Stupid Love

Chapter 5

"So it's not broken?" I asked the doctor.

It was currently two in the morning and not only me, but my mom and the whole Hart family were beyond exhausted. When everyone had arrived back at the house four hours earlier, Bryce had decided to tell them that I was 'seriously' injured. Almost immediately I was rushed to the emergency room, which believe it or not, was most certainly not meant for real emergencies.

"No, it is not broken," he said, looking down at his clipboard. "However, you will need to wear a cast for six weeks."

"How come?" I questioned, confused. Mr. Cunningham - the doctor - took out my X-ray as he began to explain.

"Just because you didn't break it doesn't mean that it isn't injured Ms. Miranda. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you have to wear a cast longer than my amount of time given. Do you see this crack right here? That's your radius, and even though the bone is not in two, it is seriously fractured."

So Bryce had been right.

Why am I not surprised?

"When will she get the cast on?" my mom asked.

"I made an appointment for her at the bone and joint facility right down the road. Tomorrow at two is when she'll have to be there. Until then we'll wrap it up and she'll have to keep it in a sling."

"Great," I mumbled to myself. "Just what I needed the night before summer school starts."

After that, it took about thirty minutes to get my arm fixed up and then another twenty-five to get home.

By the time we walked in the door, Nancy was fast asleep and everyone else seemed absolutely exhausted.

"I'm sorry that you all had to stay up really late because of a stupid mistake I made. It won't happen again," I said.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart," Amy said, giving me a reasuring smile. "We would've done the same thing if it had been Bryce or Nancy. It isn't like they haven't had their fair share of injuries."

"Thanks." I smiled weakly. She really was too nice.

"Now go get some sleep and make sure you keep that arm elevated." I nodded, turned to say goodnight to my mom, and then went to climb into bed.

I had trouble sleeping that night. Not only did my arm ache with pain, but because of Bryce, my heart did too.

~~~~

Tying shoes with a fractured wrist is way harder than it looks. I'd been sitting on the floor for ten minutes, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get the stupid laces entwined. So finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I flung my good arm in the air and gave up.

"This is impossible!" I groaned.

Ever since I'd woken up this morning I'd been in a bad mood. After all, summer school did start today and my hand felt like it was about to fall off.

Could this morning get any worse?

All of a sudden, a figure was kneeling before me.

"What-" I began to say, only to stop when I realized that it was Bryce. Without even glancing at me, he began to knot the laces on my shoes together.

Unbelievable, I thought to myself. One minute he's the nicest person in the world and then the next he's a complete asshole. And he said I had mood swings.

Seconds later, Bryce was on his feet and helping me off of the floor. His fingers lingered on my elbow and I cursed myself for not hating him like I should. Stupid girly hormones.